Pittsburgh Steelers Exit Meeting: CB Donte Jackson
Experience: 7 Years (1 with Steelers)
The Pittsburgh Steelers traded for CB Donte Jackson in March as much as they traded away WR Diontae Johnson. While that might not have felt like the case initially, the paper trail is clear. Jackson is a player they coveted for years, and they treated him like it.
The Steelers even cut down some on their shadow assignments for Joey Porter Jr. That’s because they felt more comfortable with Jackson’s coverage ability than their options last year. While he is not perfect, he pretty much had the type of season that was to be expected.
The exception is the fact that Donte Jackson had a career-high five interceptions. That is obviously a high number, and a good one, but it doesn’t paint the full picture. While many will go overboard in their attempts to take him down, he did have his struggles.
Jackson did give up a few touchdowns, but he gave up a lower level of receptions than did Porter. He also gave up fewer yards, countering with more ball skills. Although Jackson only missed two games, he also spent a lot of the year battling injury. The Steelers would know more, but one can certainly wonder how much health affected his performance, especially from December on.
Interestingly, Donte Jackson only had 38 tackles, which is rather a low amount for a Steelers cornerback. The thing is, that isn’t necessarily typical for him, recording 59 the year before. It’s hard to account for his low total, especially because he is willing to stick his nose into the fan.
Of course, sometimes that got him into trouble. Jackson is not as able a tackler as he is a willing one. The Steelers did get some solid tackling out of him, but only on occasion. A lot of times, he was a liability in that area.
And the Steelers will have to consider that factor and others, as Donte Jackson is a pending free agent. Are they satisfied with having had him as a one-year rental, or do they plan to re-sign him? Even coming off a five-interception season, I don’t anticipate a particularly robust market for the 29-year-old. He said himself that he wants to stay with the Steelers, but money always talks loudest.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at home, the inevitable result of another early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, with no clear end in sight. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we will go down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
